Why natural hair works for me.

Now that I am natural, it seems obvious to me that I should have gone natural YEARS ago. Relaxed hair never worked for me. My mom would take me to a hair shop every two weeks to get my hair done. Occasionally, the lady at the time (not my beloved Margie) would put French twists and the like, in my hair. Why would you put a French twist in an 11 year old tomboy's hair? That thing would last like 2 days, if that!

When I got older and sought out my own beautician, things became a bit better. Margie was great. She knew I was inept at hair care. She would give me a simple wrap. If I had some place to be for an extended period of time (like when I went to Europe) and she wouldn't see me she would braid my hair. See?

*Snort* Love this picture. Taken in London.

She was good to me. She was really nice and not condescending at all. I was (am) a book nerd with a word vomit problem, and she saw it as endearing.

But I moved.

I moved an hour away to be with my honey bunny. This wasn't gonna work. So I began my quest for a new beautician.

My mother's friends who live in Indianapolis gave me some leads. There was the one woman on the East side of town, who looked at me like i was psychotic because I brought in a scrapbook that had a picture of me of how I like my hair.

She used a curling iron. Margie never used a curling iron. She was awkward and standoffish, and it was one of those shops where a man comes in with a plastic garbage bag selling fake Gucci and bootleg dvd's. Uh, no.

Then there was the guy. The guy that told me my hair was a hot mess, cut off all my hair (AFTER I TOLD THIS MAN I COULD BARELY DEAL WITH MY EAR LENGTH HAIR, LET ALONE SHORT HAIR SHAVED IN THE BACK!!!), and when I asked him how I was supposed to deal with this nonsense, he told me to call him and make an appointment. This cost me $150 dollars for a relaxer and cut by the way. I just blinked.

A woman at work told me about her cousin. I decided to try one more time. If this did not work, I was going to shave my head, wear big hoop earrings, and mumble.

Cherilyn was (is) NICE. She is sweet, smart, and knowledgeable about her craft. I didn't feel uncomfortable, no one tried to sell me a bootleg dvd, and I just was happy.

Cherilyn was the catalyst for me going natural, and I hope she knows how thankful I truly am to her.

I am no longer scared to play in my own hair. I can actually do stuff with my own hair (when I am not lethargic), I am learning, and have learned, loads about my hair.

I will always be grateful to both Cherilyn and Margie. Both really sweet, down to earth people that helped me with what I needed hair-wise, when I needed it.